Pecorino Romano Protected Denomination of Origin

In Sardinia there is a huge variety of Pecorino cheeses, all with different characteristics. One of these Pecorino cheeses is called “Romano” because it was produced according to a special technique used by the cheese makers in the Roman countryside. At the end of the 19th century, this technique of processing milk moved to Sardinia and the island is now the largest producer of this type of cheese. The initiative was taken by entrepreneurs of Rome and Naples who discovered the potential profit in producing cheese from the Sardinian livestock and the aromatic meadows. The cheese is principally aimed at the US market. It is often said that today’s Pecorino Romano originates directly from the cheeses of Ancient Rome, but few references identify it specifically. There was a type of Pecorino cheese called caseus lunensis, which Pliny the Elder said may have been smoked, weighed around 300-350kg/661.6-771.6lb and was produced between Liguria and Tuscany. Today Pecorino Romano has been marked as “Protected Denomination of Origin”, DOP, and is produced by cheese factories using pure sheep’s milk obtained from November to June from free-range animals. The cheese factories have formed a consortium and established a number of product specifications: the cheese must be aged for a minimum of eight months, the texture must be compact or marked with small eyes and be white or straw-colored, the aroma is fragrant and the flavor is typically piquant. The cheese is best eaten sliced when young and grated when mature.